Clarus Technologies, in collaboration with Norrsken East Africa, announced on May 4, 2026, the launch of Scale Velocity Lab, a new go-to-market accelerator designed to help high-potential startups across East Africa sharpen growth execution, strengthen commercial systems, and accelerate market traction.
Built for ambitious founders navigating the realities of scaling in African markets, Scale Velocity Lab is a high-intensity program focused on one of the most persistent challenges in startup growth: turning strong products into repeatable commercial momentum.
The inaugural cohort will bring together a select group of startups from across East Africa for an intensive virtual sprint, combining practical workshops, founder mentoring, strategic diagnostics, and execution frameworks. Participating companies will work on critical growth levers, including positioning, sales systems, customer acquisition, product-market alignment, and revenue acceleration.
While applications are open regionally, the program also aims to see strong representation from Rwanda’s startup ecosystem where Norrsken East Africa is domiciled.
A Partnership Built for Founder Outcomes
Under the collaboration, Clarus will lead program design and delivery, drawing on its expertise in startup growth systems and go-to-market execution. Norrsken East Africa will serve as a strategic host, supporting ecosystem access, founder visibility, and connections to investors and partners through its regional platform.
The program will culminate in an Activation Showcase, where founders will engage with investors, ecosystem leaders, and strategic partners from across the region.
Why Scale Velocity Lab, Why Now
East Africa continues to produce resilient founders building solutions across fintech, commerce, logistics, climate, SaaS, and digital infrastructure. Yet many startups reach a familiar ceiling: products show promise, customers show interest, but commercial systems lag behind ambition.
Scale Velocity Lab was created to close that gap.
Rather than generic startup training, the accelerator is built around execution: helping founders identify friction in their growth engine, fix bottlenecks quickly, and leave with clearer pathways to scale.
Victor Ekwealor, Founder of Clarus, said, “There are lots of promising startups in East Africa doing amazing things. With Scale Velocity Lab, we want to provide them with practical support to grow and scale even further, especially in the age of AI. The goal is to go beyond just talk and build alongside these companies for a period of time towards a set outcome ”.
“East Africa has no shortage of talent or ambition. What founders need are the right platforms, networks, and growth tools. Scale Velocity Lab is a timely addition to the region’s support ecosystem,” Abraham Augustine, Ecosystem and Marketing Manager at Norrsken. East Africa, added.
Applications for Cohort One of Scale Velocity Lab are now open, with founders from across East Africa encouraged to apply via this link: https://scalevelocitylab.com
The initiative also serves as a pilot for a longer-term ambition: creating a flagship growth platform that consistently helps the region’s strongest startups move from potential to performance.
Scale Velocity Lab is being delivered with the support and collaboration of partners, whose expertise and commitment to founder growth are helping shape the programme.
Partners including Dochase, Visolab, and TechCabal Insights are contributing to the development of a practical, high-impact platform for startups in the program.
About Clarus
Clarus Technologies works with startups, growth-stage businesses, investors, and innovation networks across the world to improve go-to-market performance, commercial execution, and scaling readiness.
About Norrsken East Africa
Norrsken East Africa is part of the global Norrsken platform supporting entrepreneurs building solutions to the world’s greatest challenges through community, capital, and ecosystem infrastructure.
